Field of Ice
by SpiritLullaby
Summary: Michael x OC, follows Beyblade: 2000/1st Season. Reviving an old story. When Fiorella is selected to be a part of PPB along with a handful of talented athletes from all over the world, she finds herself stuck in a place far different from her own, making friends and constantly at odds with the All Stars and their captain Michael Parker.


"_Moving is never easy; the start of a new life, a new location and new faces. I only did this solely for the desire to best others. I was invited, recruited and tested. I never thought that I would leave there with a heavy heart, aching because of one person. Arrogant, lover of the limelight and not short on self-confidence, I wouldn't have even thought that I would come to adore him with those attributes. I suppose that's the beauty of fate, you can never fully pinpoint what may happen to you no matter where you are. Michael Parker. A name belonging to an athlete, who claimed to be the best of the North American region in the sport of Beyblading, always eager to please the crowd. He was my captain. Was. I was there to be a lackey for Power Project Beyblade, or PPB for short. I got as far as I could to earn their approval, to allow them to study me like a rare specimen, and subconsciously to get his attention... I feel ashamed to think of such things – my brother Enrico was known for his romances, not me! _

_Nevertheless, we forced ourselves to get along; got to know each other and I began to admire him. I always wondered if he thought the same, or if I was another girl caught in a web of one-sided affection. I've had that before. _

_I write in this diary in hopes that I keep my memories safe, far from prying eyes and hands. I write in this diary in hopes that perhaps, I can heal my wounded heart and soul. Perhaps I can see him again, and instead of reliving the past, I can make new memories. _

_I leave this diary now, locked in my dresser to remain there until I feel the need to re-read the passages. I recorded every thought, every moment and every event that occurred during my stay. _

_Eternally Yours,_

_Fiorella V. Giancarlos." _

* * *

**Chapter One: Arrival**

_8 Months Before..._

"_Attention passengers, Flight 178 from Rome, Italy to Las Vegas, Nevada, United States will be landing shortly. Please fasten your seat-beats."_

_Click._

Fiorella sat in her seat, her head leaning against the head-rest while her eyes remained glued to the window, eyeing the elaborate and brightly coloured lights that gleamed everywhere below. Her light green eyes caught onto the destined location – PPB Headquarters, just a half-hour drive from the City of Lights. She closed her eyes for a second; her heart thudded slightly as her nervousness kicked in. Her finger tapped over her music player, changing songs. She was waiting for this in a way, to become part of a team and representing her country, but never thought she would be asked to _beyblade_. The sport itself seemed so foreign to her despite her younger brother Enrique being so involved with it, later becoming the best of their home country.

She opened her eyes again, looking at the rest of the passengers that seated in the plane. Most were individuals were around the same age as her, some a little younger. All teenagers. Other passengers were adults and families, on vacation no doubt. Majority of the passengers carried the same papers that she had tucked away in her carry-on, the invitation from PPB that granted access to their facilities. She wasn't the only one, thankfully.

A figure-skater at best, Fiorella knew the art of ice skating since she was small. Years of practice, strict discipline from her coach and a few competitions paid off – her name was fairly well-known in her region, thus earning her a place among the "All Starz". The goal was to always aim to be an ice star, but to be invited to join PPB's All Starz' underlings amused her. Still, it worried her. Her mannerisms, how she was taught and all that she knew were to be left back in her beloved Roma with her family.

Fiorella jolted upwards when the plane touched the ground, bumping slightly as it slowly came to a stop at the airport. Once alerted, she freed herself from the seatbelt and chair, proceeding to the exit. Upon entering the airport, she moved her eyes all around the building and took in the signs leading to food, taxis that waited outside and how everything seemed so glamorous as opposed to the more historic, classical appearance Rome had offered. In a sense, she found it to be rather tacky. Her eyes locked onto the other passengers, giving her the idea that they knew where to go and decided to follow them close behind.

"You a part of the PPB thing they got going here?" a tall, muscular male said beside her. His skin resembled that of dark chocolate with golden eyes that always seemed to look half closed, giving him a much more relaxed expression. His ebony black hair was twisted into dreadlocks with them tied in a loose ponytail, which bounced as he walked.

She nodded, "Yeah, I flew in from Italy." She was amazed at how her English seemed passable and her voice sounded squeaky in comparison to his much deeper tone.

The dark skinned teen smirked, "New Orleans, family's originally from Brazil, a lot closer than you by the looks of it." He cocked a brow, "What sport you in?"

"Figure Skating with some Ice Dance training, but I'm more in the competitive division. Yourself?"

"Martial Arts. Caporeia, specifically."

Fiorella titled her head to the side, "Caporeia?"

He nodded, "Mixture of martial arts and dance. Dance-fighting would be the easiest way to describe it." He shrugged his shoulders and shifted his carry-on.

"I'm Donovan Holden."

"Fiorella Giancarlos."

Another boy jumped in the conversation, his hair was a mess of light brown hair and his hazel eyes sparkled brilliantly, "We're an odd mix, eh? The name's Connor Moonsong. Native Canadian, or Ojibwa to be precise. Lacrosse is my sport." He grinned and pointed his thumb at himself with one hand while the other carried his duffel bag. Fiorella smiled in greeting and Donovan nodded and shook his hand.

"So, anybody got any idea why we're all assembled here?" Connor asked.

"We got a letter praising for our athletics and were invited to join this thing, right?" Donovan added, Fiorella nodded.

"To join with Power Project Beyblade, or PPB All Stars." She replied, looking over the letter again.

"PPB All Stars?" Donovan quirked his eyebrow again and looked over at Connor who shrugged his shoulders.

"So we're all in the dark about that. What about Beyblade? Anybody heard of that? I think it's popular back where I'm from among some of the street kids in Toronto, but that's it."

"A few of the kids from my area are into it too, isn't it those spinning top things?"

Fiorella half-shrugged, "My younger brother is into it, he won the nationals in Italy, but that's about as far as my knowledge goes."

Connor laughed, "Fair enough, it's not like we've got time for that sorta thing, being _semi-professional_ athletes who compete in _real_ sports." He gently nudged Donovan who smirked in response.

"Real sports huh?" A voice cut into their conversation, causing the three of them – along with the rest of the incoming invites – to look in the direction of the voice's owner.

Standing before them were four adolescents, no older than they were, each carrying an item pertaining to their chosen sport. One held a baseball in hand, occasionally tossing it, another held a football under his arm, the tallest spun a basketball on his index finger while the only girl of the group held a tennis racket, but chose to focus on the small laptop cradelled in her arms. The speaker stepped forward, tugging his baseball cap to adjust it over a mess of burgundy hair. He narrowed his grey-blue eyes in their direction.

"Looks like we've got some newcomers who think they know everything," he smirked, now casually tossing his baseball, "Listen up, to us you're the newbies to us _professionals_ now. I'm your captain, Michael Parker."

"You're our captain?" Donovan pointed at him and Michael nodded, the taller male looked away to hide a fit of laughter.

Fiorella looked at her 'captain', who eyed her appreciatively in return. She raised an eyebrow, trying to imagine this young man instructing her on what to do. The immediate thought of him figure skating alone was amusing to her.

_He probably doesn't know the difference between a Lutze to a Salchow. He'd be lucky to stop without crashing into a wall..._

"You got a problem?" he asked her.

"I do," Fiorella replied, crossing her arms while walking over to him, "What gives you the right to throw authority around when none of us have even the slightest clue to what is going on? We were given letters, a plane ticket and flown here from all across the globe with no idea with regards to this sport called 'Beyblade'."

Michael smirked at her and mirrored her crossed arms and straightened posture in mockery, "What's your name?"

"Fiorella."

"What's your sport, Fi-Fi?"

"Figure Skating. And it's Fiorella. Not Fi-Fi, I'm not a dog."

"Alright then, _Miss Fiorella_-"

The taller, dark-skinned boy holding a basketball interrupted and pointed a finger at her, "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be Fiorella Giancarlos, would you? Sister to Enrique Giancarlos who won the Italian Championships?"

Fiorella nodded, "I am."

"So you _do_ know a bit about 'blading." He smirked and high-fived Michael.

She shifted uncomfortably in her stance, pretending to scuff some dirt from her boots, "I know a little, but that doesn't count for everyone else."

Connor stepped in, "Hey wait a minute, Fiorella's got a point. We know a little bit about it, but we're not totally engrossed with it. Mind throwing us a bit of background info on it instead of acting like a bunch of jerks?"

Michael raised an eyebrow at him in annoyance for butting in and pushed him aside, "Nobody asked you." He snapped. Connor shoved him back and stood his ground, "Up yours, Parker."

"Oh? You wanna start something? Just try it, Canuk."

"There's no need to pick on her. I can kick your ass as many times as I want, 'Merican. History proves that."

"What are you, her boyfriend?"

"No. Just a friend, at least I know how to make some decent ones without flaunting like a deranged peacock."

Both Donovan and Michael's teammates broke between them, Fiorella turned to Connor and put a hand on his shoulder in gratitude.

"Thank you Connor, but don't sink to his level. Please."

"Yeah really man, these are Las Vegas kids; they think their shit smells like goddamn roses." Donovan said, coaxing Connor out of his flaring temper.

"Oh yeah? What about you?" The footballer called out, making their taller friend put a hand in front to prevent him from moving forward.

"New Orleans, Louisiana. And judging by your accent, you're a Texan. My bad, you had the same arrogance as Parker there." He grinned innocently while the latter growled and looked away.

The Canadian pushed himself from his grip and turned away to gather his senses. With a heavy sigh, he reached over and put a hand on Fiorella's shoulder in return. "Not a problem, Fio – er Fiorella. Sorry, Habit of shortening names." He said timidly.

She smiled and nodded.

Their attention was turned to a tall, slender woman with blonde-hair that bobbed around shoulder length and wore a purple hair band around her forehead. She had piercing blue eyes and walked gracefully but with authority. Her white lab coat drifted behind her with each step and covered her purple blazer and skirt outfit.

"Good afternoon everyone. My name is Judy, I am the Director of Power Project Beyblade. Allow me to extend my greeting to you all and I hope your stay here is not only memorable, but a positive learning experience. I am pleased to announce that all of you were handpicked by our specialists to be examined on and trained into the sport of Beyblade, some of you may be lucky to stay here and be a part of PPB. Beyblade is an internationally known sport that has taken the world by a storm that I'm sure many of you are well aware of. Spinning tops, fused with animal spirits so to speak. A one-on-one battle that is a best of 3, allowing you to advance until one reaches the finals."

Judy smiled warmly at the new arrivals, some nodding and some smiling nervously back at her.

"This may be an opportunity for you and a selected team to advance to other parts of the world. Maybe to the World Championships which are held in Moscow, Russia this year. Now, if I could direct your attention to your superiors, these are the PPB All Stars." She moved her arm in the direction of Michael and his teammates, all of which exchanged smug grins and icy glares.

"Emily York." the girl with the tennis racket looked up from her laptop and shifted her glasses as if she was acknowledging them. Her hair was a brilliant copper colour as it flipped in layers just past her chin.

"Steven Jones." The football player that Donovan referred to as a 'Texan' let out a grunt and crossed his arms and stuck his head up to show dominance though his dark green hair made that hard to notice. Big in build, he was more or less the team's heavyweight.

"Edward 'Eddy' Wheeler." The tall, dark-skinned basketball player nodded back at them. Friendly enough, but still just as arrogant as his teammates.

"Michael Parker. Captain of the PPB All Stars." He nodded in greeting, winking and smirking at a group of giggling girls. No denying that he was the alpha and made sure that everyone knew about it one way or the other.

"Now that you've met them, let us pile into the bus and get started with PPB. This way please and try not to fall behind. Your belongings have already been shipped and placed into your designated rooms at Headquarters."

Everyone followed after Judy, some looking at one another while others shuffled close. Donovan looked over at Connor who nodded, possibly arranging seats together. Fiorella looked between both of them, hoping to at least sit near them and nowhere near the All Stars.

Once seated, she turned her attention to the window and forced herself to look out at the buildings surrounding her. She was so heavily focused on them that she didn't notice who sat beside her. The sudden movement of the seats caused her to jump and stare at Michael Parker who looked back at her in confusion.

Inside, she was groaning in disgust but on the outside she shifted uncomfortably and made herself look back out the window.

"You gonna be like this for the entire project?" he asked.

"Depends on the company." She replied quietly.

Michael smirked and leaned back in his seat, "Not so much of a big talker with me one on one, huh? What's the matter, don't have your little buddies to back you up?"

Fiorella turned to look back at him with narrowed eyes, "It's not being alone with you that bothers me, Michael. What bothers me is your obnoxious behaviour and your belief that I'm a stupid foreigner."

He let out a chuckle and rested his arm on the rest in between them and leaned closer to her, "See, you're wrong about me thinking you're a stupid foreigner Fiorella. But I can say you're a stuck-up, just like Shrimp over there." He pointed over at Emily who sat beside Judy and chatted endlessly.

"Am I stuck up, or are you just out of my league and that lights a fire under your ass?" she asked and half-smirked. To add more to the tension, she mock-affectionately patted his hand.

He quickly grabbed it and pulled her close, "Let's get one thing straight, Fio. I'm superior and you're inferior." His eyes locked with her mint-green eyes, which widened in shock at his sudden mood-change.

"We'll see about that, Parker. We'll see." She said quietly and jabbed at the beak of his hat, making it fly off from his head and onto the floor of the bus. Swearing under his breath he grabbed for it and shoved it back onto his head in anger. Fiorella turned to look back out the window and smirked. They remained silent for the rest of the ride back to PPB Headquarters.

Upon arrival, everyone was shown to their rooms by number and gender. Boys in one wing, girls in the other. Fiorella walked into her room and looked at the luggage that sat neatly in her room. Like a cat being welcomed into her new home, she gingerly walked about the small bedroom, eyeing the bed, the dressers, the vanity table and the adjoined bathroom. After pacing about for nearly half an hour, she shrugged off her jacket and sat on the bed.

She followed the other girls to the Mess Hall, trying to ignore their conversations about the 'cute boys'. She barely ate what was offered, picking occasionally at the fries and the cheeseburger she had on her plate. She thought about home, her coach and her family.

_Go with grace and honor._ A common motto among herself, her coach and her fellow skaters. She missed them greatly, remembering how they surprised her with a 'Farewell Party' and jokingly bugged her to send them back a couple of American boys for them to play with, her coach affectionately lecturing her about her routines, the movements and all she needed to succeed. She remembered her parents with their words of encouragement and her younger brother Enrique bugging her about how she was going to come back with an accent. She watched Donovan and Connor joke around with a couple of other guys that were new, already fitting in effortlessly. She moved her eyes over to the All Stars who sat at their own table, chatting about whatever they wanted. Michael shot a look over at her, sending a quick shock to her and making her look away in embarrassment. In a matter of minutes she quickly took her leave.

After she showered, she sat in her room. Tired from the long flight, the long drive and the long day, Fiorella collapsed onto the bed with her eyes releasing tears onto the pillow that softly held her dampened head. Despite her fatigue, Fiorella never slept that night.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So this must be really weird to see! I've recently gotten back into the Beyblade series, particularly Season One. A few may remember Fiorella, with her being one of my oldest OCs and being the first Beyblade OC I created. I've since changed her background information from what she used to be, but kept a few things like who she's related to and who she's paired with. She's got a bit more fire in her personality but I hope it's not too overbearing!

Nevertheless, enjoy what I've got so far. I hope to take this to the very end for once, and hopefully no one is too OOC.


End file.
